|
Headlines and bylines |
|
Front Page Feature Story |
|
From the Editor |
|
Addie’s Drawing |
|
Letters to the Editor |
|
Victoria Moments |
|
Hook Line & Sinker |
|
Calendar of Events |
|
Click here to Advertise |
|
the Gazette |
|
Return to Home Page |
|
Order paper Gazette |
|
Notes and Quotes |
|
The Scoop at City Hall |
|
City Scoop Continued |
|
Dedicated to the sunshine of truth, the moonshine of meeting deadlines, and the starshine of Victoria. |
|
The Victoria GAZETTE |
|
MACKENTHUN’S MEAT & DELI St. Bonifacius * 952-446-1234 |
|
“Trees Are Our Roots” 8099 Bavaria Rd * Victoria * 952-443-2990 |
|
Weinzierl Jewelers |
|
Waconia 952-442-2885 |
|
WATERBROOKE Fellowship A place where all may experience God in a meaningful and personal way, in Victoria. 952-443-0062 |
|
CORNERSTONE Insurance Agency David Barsness * 952-448-5028 |
|
Downtown Victoria * 952-443-2858 |
|
Island View Dining Waconia. 952-442-2956 |
|
VICTORIA HAS GREAT BENEFIT PACKAGE MAY LOOK AT ID THEFT INS & TUITION HELP Council held a workshop on February 23rd to talk about benefits paid to city employees and how the City of Victoria compares to others. Stated City Manager Laurie Hokkanen, "We asked Brenda Wendlandt to take a look and see where we were in the market and jumpstart a discussion on PTO." Brenda Wendlandt is a Human Resources Consultant with Walphin HR Solutions. PTO stands for Paid Time Off "On average," said Brenda, "employers are spending 43% of total pay on employee benefit packages. That's kind of shocking, but it's pretty solid when you look at it in total." She said the 43% referred to organizations nationally and the majority of them were private sector. "Employees want flexibility rather than high salaries, especially the millennials and X generation," she said. "And Victoria compares!" she stated. "The city's group insurance benefit package is very comparable to all metro groups. The city leads the market in both long term and short term benefits. The city lags in only one area -- HSA contributions." HSA stands for Health Savings Account. "The trend is to move away from traditional sick leave to PTO," she said. "The city currently offers 11 paid holidays and meets the market, and 12 sick days and meets the market. The city's vacation schedule meets the market for 0 to 15 years of employment but lags in the 15 to 20 year range." Sometimes employees are interested in furthering their education or degrees. "The city doesn't offer tuition reimbursement," she said, mentioning there are also possible "ancillary benefits" such as long term insurance care, identify theft (which the City of Victoria currently offers), vision insurance, travel protection insurance and pet insurance. "We are seeing more and more of this [pet insurance] and Take Your Pet to Work Day, more in the private sector," she added. There are decisions to be made, said Brenda: Does the city want to lead, meet, or lag the market? "You do have a good benefit package and I do think it will help you retain good employees," she stated. "The second question is, Do you want to convert from sick leave to PTO? Or should the city maintain two systems?" Stated Councilmember Tom Strigel, "I don't think we want to lag and we don't need to lead either. As for PTO, I'd like employees who are sick to not come to work -- for their sake as well as the other employees. I'm in favor of going to the PTO. I'm in favor of use it or lose it. As for vacation time, not accruing it but maybe carrying over some hours." Jessica Beise, Executive Assistant at City Offices, said the average number of sick days used per employee in Victoria in 2010 was 7 days. In 2011 it was 8 days. This is an average comparable to others, she said. Said Councilmember Jim Crowley, "We need to offer benefits that are appropriate for the times. We need to be leading in what the benefits are. The objective is to motivate behavior and attract employees and that doesn't mean an HSA offering. We need to lead but not with insurance ... Leading the market doesn't mean we have to pay more." Stated Brenda, "Overall your benefit package is great except for HSA, and that doesn't mean you have to go there." It was pointed out that Victoria pays 95% for the individual premium and 80% for the family. "The 80% number is beginning to be high in the market," she said. "It's going down." Said Mayor Tom O'Connor, "I agree there's no reason to lead the market." Councilmember Tom Strigel pointed out that with existing benefits, "We were able to attract the employees we wanted." Stated Laurie, "I appreciate the commitment that you want to meet the market. People are getting savvy about insurance and benefits." "I tend to agree with Mr. Crowley," said Councilmember Lani Basa. "We want to feel that richness in terms of what we offer here. The younger generations are more savvy. We have to be more vigilant. This report gives us understanding. I'd like us to be in the running. I'd say we want to meet the market but lead in looking at it holistically." Mayor O'Connor asked the city manager, "What do you think?" "I think the package we're offering is a good one," replied Laurie. "We've had five new hires. This is something we'll keep on our radar. I don't think there is a pressing need at this time." Said Councilmember Strigel, "I'd like to see us move forward and get a draft plan for PTO and tuition reimbursement." "How expensive is identity theft insurance?" asked Councilmember Crowley. "It's not expensive," said Laurie. "It's $200 to cover all of our employees. I look at it as a protection for the city as well." To deal with such theft is a consuming process. It was suggested that Council should also be included in that coverage. In summary, there will be no significant benefit changes at this time but the city will look further at identity theft insurance and tuition reimbursement, and think about migrating from sick leave to PTO.
|
|
March 2015 |
